Car-signal



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

C. E. MILLER.

GAB. SIGNAL.

No. 592,158. Patented Oct. 19,1897.

INVENTOI? M (5 W lT/VESSES:

A TTORI EYS.

(No Model.) 2 sheets sheet 2. G.- E. MILLER.

CAR SIGNAL.

Patented Oct.

INVENTOI? I M ATTORNEYS WITNESSES.

we NORRIS PETERS no, Pno'nxuruu, wAsHmcrroN. v. c.

I PATENT FFICE.

CAROLINE E. MILLER, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

CAR-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 592,158, dated October 19, 1897.

I Application filed May 5, 1896. Renewed May 19, 1897. SerialNo. 637,287. (No model.)

To ZZZ whom it may concern/.

Be it known that I, CAROLINE E. MILLER, of Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Oar-Signaling Devices, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to signaling devices for street-railway cars, and has for its object to provide a novel, simple, manually-adjustable signaling device for indicating from a car on a railway-track the approach of another car on a parallel track, and which will be plainly visible to persons about to cross the railway, thereby warning them of danger.

Afurt-her object is to afford a reliable signal on a moving car that may be viewed by a person who is approaching the railway on an intersecting street, and thus may be informed of the approach of a car he may want to board, but that is concealed from view.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as is here inafter described, and indicated in the claims.

' changed in construction.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a side view of the improved signaling device in folded adj ustment on the end portion of a car-platform. Fig. 2 is a side view of the improvement in opened condition on a car-platform shown in part, a battery and electric-circuit being also indicated for lighting electroliers on the signal. Fig. 3 is a front edge view of the device in folded condition seen indirection of arrow'3in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side View of the improved signaling device, located on the rear platform of a car and adjusted for service. Fig. 5 is a de-. tached outer side view of a bracket-plate that affords support for the signal device and is removably secured on the end of a car. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view substantially on the line 6 6 in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is an inner side view of the bracket-plate slightly Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional View substantially on the line 8 Sin Fig. 7-, and Fig. 9 is a detached and enlarged perspective view of one of the bracket connections for the signal device .with supporting bracket-plate.

the

that outwardly project from the dashboard on the car, and also from thefron't edge of the canopy that covers the car-platform. The

eye portions of the staples that project beyond the bracket-plate are engaged by the hooks c, that serve to detachably secure the bracket-plate in position on the car, and it is to be understood that a similar means for attaching the bracket-plate is provided at each end of the car;

The signaling device consists of a series of fiat, thin blades 11, each blade being secured to project from a heavier stub end portion 11, and the latter have a lapped engagement with each other at corresponding ends, which are preferably placed in a bracket-box 12,that has parallel side flanges joined by a bottom web to the back plate of said box, as clearly shown inFig.9. x

The lapped ends of the stubs 11, which occupy the box 12, are pivoted therein by a transverse bolt, so that the series of blades may be rocked thereon and caused to assume a folded condition, as represented in Fig. 1, but for effective operation the two blades which are outermost when folded are prevented from closely folding together by two spacing-plates d df, that are affixed to said blades, and spaced apart, causing the outer blade to incline away from the other blades when the device is folded.

The blades 11 are preferably graded in length, the one which in service is located nearest to the bracket plate 10 being of greater length than the others, and on the longest blade another bracket-box 12? is secured, which is substantially like the box 12, except that there is no bottom .web provided,

the side flanges of the box being located on opposite sides of the blade and thereto attached by any suitable means. From. each bracket-box 12 12 two outwardly and'downwardly bent hooks e are projected, the hooks on each box being located near side edges'of the same, so that each pair of hooks has substantially the same degree of separation. On the outer side of the bracket-plate two pairs of staples or screw-eyes g are projected at such points as will adapt them to receive the hooks c, which are entered from the upper sides of the screw-eyes, which engagement of parts will connect the signal-blades with the bracket-plate, and retain them projected outwardly therefrom, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

To prevent an upward displacement of the signal device, one or both of the hooks that engage the lowermost staples or screw-eyes g is provided with a transverse key that engages a lateral perforation of the hook, as best shown in Fig. 5).

The blades 11 are furnished with means for illuminating their outer ends. Preferably electric incandescent lamps are used for such a purpose, one lamp 71. for each blade being held in a transverse aperture near the free end of the latter, and all the lamps are connected to a battery or other source of electricity by flexible conducting-wires 7:, as indicated in Fig. 2. It should be explained that the battery 13, diagrammatically represented in Fig. 2, is to be located at any convenient point on the car, and the conducting-wires 1' extended thereto. If the car is propelled by an electric motor, it is evident that a local battery may be dispensed with and the wires i connected to the source of electricity that runs the car.

When the fan-like signal device is spread so as to display its series of blades, as shown in Figs. 9 and l, and thus render the lights on said blades conspicuous at night, the signal is then set to indicate to observers who may view it from either side, that there is a car approaching the car having its signal thus displayed, a folded adjustment of the series of blades 11, as shown in Fig. 1, indicating that there is no car in sight ahead of the car having the signal so folded.

To enable the conductor or motorman to set the signal in open or closed adjustment, the two blades 11 that are outermost when the signal is folded and lowermost when said signal is opened have a flexible strand 14:, attached by one end thereto. Preferably, this end of the chain or wire cord is secured to the spacing-plate d, and thence extended through a staple or screw-eye 7; on the blade that is nearest the bracket-plate 10. From the screw-eye 7:. the strand 1i is passed up wardly and through another screweye m, thence through a slot 07. in the bracket-plate 10, from which the strand is extended over a loose pulley o, from which it depends through another staple or screw-eye m, a handle 12 being fastened to the pendent extremity of the strand. The length of the strand 1t is so proportioned that the handle 17 will come into contact with the screw-eye on when the signal device is in an opened condition, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

hen the signal is to be folded, the operator pulls the handle 1) down past another screw-eye m that is sufficiently open in its ring portion to allow the strand to be readily inserted within the slitted ring or eye. Then if draft force is relaxed, the contact of the handle p with the lower side of the serew-eye m will retain the signal in a folded condition.

In Figs. '7 and 8 another slightly-different construction of parts is shown, for holding the handle end of the strand 1-t so drawn as to retain the signal-blades 11 folded or opened, the changes being as follows: A longitudinal slot q is formed in the bracket-plate 10 of a length equal with the distance traversed by the spacing-plate (1. During the act of folding the blade it is secured on into closed adjustment. The handle at the end of the strand 1-t is in this construction given the form of a knob 1), having a shank on it that is loosely secured in the slot (1, so that the knob when fastened to the end of said strand will by the gravity of the two lowermost signal-blades ll be drawn to the top of the slot when the signal is dropped for service, or into the position shown in Fig. 52. A short lateral slot is extended from the longitudinal slot 1 at the lower end of the latter, wherein the shank of the handle or knob 17 may he slid when the latter is fully drawn down to elevate and fold the blades 11 of the signal device, and it will be evident that when the shank of said knob is engaged with the lateral slot mentioned, the signal device will remain in a folded condition, to be readily released by moving the knob-shank into the upright slot q.

To adapt the blades 11 to freely work to gether when the signal is opened or closed, said blades are connected to each other by flexible straps 0*, that are secured by their ends on the adjacent blades, said straps having a proper length to permit the correct divergence of the blades when they are in opened condition. Thetwolowermostblades l1, which'are rigidly spaced from each other by the plates (Z d, are also flexibly connected to the foldable blade next above them.

The plate (I has an outwardly-projecting flange formed on it, whereon the lower edge of the blade 11, next above said flanged spac- I ing-plate, will rest when the strand 14- is drawn upon to fold the signal-blades, and all the other blades will successively impinge said flanged plate to effect the correct folding of the signal device.

The blades of the signal device are laterally sustained by the guy-wires or like connections s, that are extended from staples or screw-eyes s on the bracket-plate 10, to have their other ends secured upon similar project-ions from opposite sides of the upper blade of the pair that are rigidly connected with the spacing-plates (l d. The apertures in the free ends of the blades 11, wherein the lamps h are located, should be encircled by bright-colored rings, that may be painted on. the blades, or the free end portions of said ICO IIO

blades may be painted on each side for a short distance, so as to be readily seen in daylight when the signal is set to indicate an approaching car.

The detachable cord or like flexible connection 14 may be extended from the signal device, which is preferably placed on the car at its rear end, to the front end of said car, and be held by any preferred means for convenient manipulation, the motorman in this case attending to the adjustment of the signal. It is also equally feasible to station the signal device on the front end of the car, to be near the motorman, and it is to be understood that the signal may be under the control of the conductor or motorman or gripman,as the case may be.

From the described construction of parts, it will be apparent that the signal device may be quickly and conveniently set to throw it from a normal folded condition into open adj ustment, thus conspicuously displaying all the signal-blades for the observation of persons on the street wherein therailway is located, or who may be approaching the railway on an intersecting street.

The signal is of twofold service,as it not only is a danger-signal 'to prevent persons from crossing the tracks of a railway when an approaching car is near the one having the signal and is obscured from the pedestrians, but

is also available as a notice-signal to persons on crossing streets that a car is nearing the intersection of the railroad with said street whereon the person is traveling, so that the pedestrian may hasten if necessary and arrive at the railway in time to board the approachin g car.

As the bracket-plate 10 may be changed from one end of the car to another, it is rendered available for service either at the front end or rear end of the car, as may be preferred.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A signaling device, composed of a series of rigid flat blades flexibly connected together and adapted to fold from one end, lights held near the free ends of said blades, and means to fold the blades by draft on the outer blades of the series, as specified.

2. A signaling device, composed of foldable blades apertured near their free ends, an electric light held in the aperture of each blade, and circuit-wires flexibly connecting all the lamps to a source of electricity, as specified. a

3. A signaling device, comprising a bracketplate adapted for upright attachment on either end of a car and transferable from end to end thereof, and a foldable signal composed of a plurality of blades pivoted on a bracket-box by one end of each blade, the blade nearest the bracket-plate being removably attachable thereto, as specified.

4. A signaling device, comprising a bracketplate adapted for upright attachment on the end of a car, a fan-like foldable signal securable on the side of said bracket-plate, means to illuminate the signal, and a device which is adjustable from the car and adapted to fold the signal, as specified.

5. A signaling device, comprising a bracketplate, means to detachably secure said plate on either end of a car, a fan-like foldable signal having its free ends laterally apertured, electric lamps in said apertures, and an electric circuit for said lamps, as specified.

6. A signaling device,comprisin g a bracketplate, means to detachably secure said plate on the end of a car, a signal composed of a series of blades pivoted to fold from one end, and having electric lamps held in apertures at opposite ends of said blades, means to removably secure the blades on the bracketplate, means to fold and release the folded blades, and an electric circuit for the lamps,

as specified.

CAROLINE -E. MILLER. Witnesses:

ELIZABETH CARLETON, MARGARET CARLETON. 

